


Nothing Stays The Same

by Wolf183



Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Please Don't Kill Me, Sexy Times, Slow Burn, War, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24190870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolf183/pseuds/Wolf183
Summary: Raelle gets Scylla back, but not everything goes to plan.
Relationships: Raelle Collar & Scylla Ramshorn, Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn
Comments: 21
Kudos: 194





	1. Chapter 1

Some people say patience is a virtue...I want to punch those people in the face. I’ve been waiting in the dark for almost two hours and if she doesn’t show up soon I think I might go crazy. 

I hold my breath as I hear voices I don’t recognize. 

“Hey! You there! Stop!” 

“Shit, it’s Anacostia. Nice going, you idiot.” 

“Oh crap, forgive me Anacostia. I didn’t know it was you, I would never have yelled and I-” 

“It’s fine. Just don’t let it happen again.” Came a short, gruff reply before I heard footsteps coming towards my hiding spot. 

Anacostia came into view, walking right past me and heading into the woods. I waited a few minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore and I followed her. As I made my way into the woods after Anacostia I thought of all that had happened in the past week. 

Alder is currently in prison awaiting her trial after her puppeteering of Madam President was discovered and she was arrested. Anacostia told Petra about what she saw and still having control over some forces, Petra took action against Alder. The cadets at Fort Salem only knew two things; Petra Bellweather had entered Fort Salem in the middle of the night and after explosions and screaming awoke everyone on base, she came out of an almost completely destroyed building with what looked like somebody's grandmother being dragged by two soldiers behind her. We later found out that that old lady was Alder and that Petra had killed all her biddies, rendering Alder completely defenseless and extremely weak. 

Petra took over as General of the military after being sworn in by Madam President and since then, many things have changed around here. For one, Fort Salem was being destroyed. The grounds were somehow connected to Alder's lifeforce and all around the fort, things started dying. The grass turned brown, the trees lost their leaves, and anything else that grew on the grounds was all slowly dying. The beautiful and bright land that was once Fort Salem now held an empty, almost eerily dark feeling. The land was cursed now, everyone could feel it. 

Abigail let it spill that the new Fort would be on the West Coast somewhere and from the orders to start packing up in a week or so, it must be almost finished. I didn’t have much to begin with, so I was already ready to get up and leave, but there was one thing I still needed to grab. Scylla. 

After Anacostia told me Scylla's true feelings about me and her story, I knew that I couldn’t just leave her to the mercy of Petra. She was no General Alder, but from the way she cared more about Scylla being Spree than the dead civilians led me to believe that she would not hesitate to leave her for dead in whatever prison they had in the Caribbean. 

I brought it up to Anacostia, hoping she could sneak her out or something but she told me that there were guards posted everywhere, all under Petras command. This meant that Scylla being led out of her cell by Anacostia would make its way to Petra's ears and with no valid reason why Anacostia took her, she might be charged with a war crime for conspiring with a traitor. It was only yesterday that Anacostia casually slipped me a note saying to be outside of the necro building at exactly midnight. Whatever their plan was, I didn’t care. I just wanted my girl back. 

The woods at night were already creepy but add in the fact that pretty much everything was dead now, made it a hundred times worse. Too busy with trying to find my way in the darkness I didn’t notice the figure approaching me until their hand was over my mouth and I was being dragged away. I struggled but their grip was too strong and I was helpless against them. It wasn’t until we were in a small stone building that the hand released me and I wiped around, ready for a fight, but instead, I was face to face with Anacostia. 

“What the hell was that about! You could have just poked me or said something. You didn’t have to drag me through the woods!” I whispered harshly, not wanting to draw the attention of a random passerby. “Where is Scylla? Did you get her out?” 

Anacostia said nothing and continued looking at me with a smirk on her face. 

“Fuck, Anacostia, don’t play with me right now. Where the hell is she?” I started to panic, what if something went wrong? Why the hell is she smiling? Why does she have a lighter? 

All these thoughts ran through my head and I was about to open my mouth to yell at her to tell me something when her face caught flame. 

I jumped back from her and watched as Anacostia's face burned away to reveal Scylla's. 

She stood there watching me, waiting to see how I would react to her presence. 

I didn’t even feel my body move but the next thing I knew, I was holding her, and tears were running down my face. She gripped my shirt in her hands as she hugged me back, neither of us wanting to let go of the other. I felt her tears on my shirt and I held her tighter, letting her know that she was safe and that I wasn’t letting her go anytime soon. 

“I’m sorry Raelle, I’m so so sorry. I never wanted-” 

I cut her off as my lips found hers and I kissed her with everything I had. It was messy and fast in the beginning. Both of us trying desperately to convey all our pent up emotions, overwhelmed with the fact that we were together again. But then we fell into our old rhythm and it was like all the other times we had kissed, except this time there was a new fire to it. An unspoken promise of being there for each other, now and forever. 

Scylla pulled back, gasping for breath and leaned her forehead against mine. “Are you still mine?”

I looked into her deep blue eyes, slightly red from crying but still breathtakingly beautiful and didn’t hesitate in answering her. 

“I never stopped being yours. I love you Scylla, so damn much and I don’t think I ever will stop. I’m yours and you are mine, not even the goddess herself could take me away from you. Until the world falls, I will be by your side. I was made to love you and only death will keep me from doing so.” I promised her. 

Scylla let out a laugh/sob and wiped the tears off her face before leaning forward and capturing my lips in another searing kiss. Pulling back, she held my face in her hands and said, “It’s cute how you think death can get you out of this relationship. I’m a necromancer, remember love?” 

“Oh I remember, but enough talk about death. I wanna show you just how much I missed you.” I said before kissing her hungrily, backing her up against the wall. Her hands went from my face to tangle in my hair, tugging me closer. Biting gently at her bottom lip with my teeth, I pulled away to start a trail of kisses starting from her jawline down to her collarbone. 

“Is there a bed in this creepy building you brought me too?” I mumbled against her skin as I left marks on her porcelain skin. 

Sylla took a few moments to answer, caught up in what I was doing to her. “Uh...fuck...Yea-yeah. Cot in the co-corner.” She stammered out in between breaths. 

“Perfect,” I said, placing one last kiss on her collarbone before connecting our lips again. Scylla knew what to do when I grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her up. Legs wrapped around my waist and I smiled up at her. Thank the goddess for the military fitness that I was forced to do for months. 

I set her gently on the bed, straightening up to pull my shirt off before settling against her again. She reached a hand down between us and undid my pants. 

Gasping into the kiss as her fingers brushed against me, I ground down on her hand, needing some sort of friction. 

“You-You have far too many clothes on.” I stammered out, trying not to lose myself in what Scylla was doing to me. 

She smirked up at me and slipped a finger inside as she said, “Oh really? Well, we can’t have that can we?” 

I didn’t have time to react as she flipped our positions so now she was the one straddling me. She slipped her hand out of my pants and flung her shirt over her head. I leaned up in an instant, unhooking her bra and throwing it somewhere in the room. 

Looking at her beauty I paused to kiss her slowly. “You are absolutely breathtaking Scylla. I’m not sure if I’ve told you this, but I think I’m very deeply in love with you.” I said, smiling up at her. 

A deep blush was on her face as she cupped my cheek and placed a soft kiss on my lips, “I think you’ve mentioned it maybe once or twice.” Scylla smirked and kissed me again. 

The kiss started as gentle and sweet but quickly gained heat as my hands wandered over her chest and started working on the button of her pants. 

I flipped us over and hovering over her once more, tugged off her pants and underwear. She lay bare beneath me and I started kissing her chest, one of my hands coming up to her breast.

“Shit, Raelle. Please, I can’t-I need you now.” Syclla moaned out, hands pushing down on my shoulders, subtly giving me a hint on what she wants. 

Continuing to kiss down her body, I pushed her legs apart and settled between them. I captured her gaze one last time before dipping my head and running the flat of my tongue over her. Her hands tangled in my hair again, pulling me impossibly closer. 

I added my fingers in and when her legs came up and squeezed my head, I knew she was close. I sucked on her clit and curled my fingers, pushing her over the edge. 

After working Scylla through her orgasm, I looked down at her. “So, you miss me?” I asked, a cocky grin on my face. Syclla rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss me, effectively moving so she was once again on top of me. “Oh so very much. But, I think you missed me more.” Scylla said in a low, husky voice before slipping her hand in my pants again. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scylla snores. It’s not the loud, dad, snore that most people think of when they hear that someone snores. No, her snoring was soft and small, like how a mouse would snore...do mice snore? If they do, would a human be able to hear them? What if like ten of them were snoring at the same time? Would we be able to hear them then? Oh, shit...my mind did the thing again. 

Light seeps in from underneath the door and I get a better look of where I am. It’s a completely stone building about the size of a small one-room apartment. In one corner is a small door that I can only assume leads to a bathroom and other than the small cot in the corner, the rest of the room is completely bare. I looked down at Scylla sleeping on my chest, her arm flung across my waist. There was nowhere else I’d rather be, but nothing good lasts forever. 

“Raelle! Scyll- Holy shit you guys are naked.” Adil had come crashing through the door and when he saw the situation Scylla and I were in, immediately went right back out the door. 

“I’m so sorry...I didn’t know you guys were not wearing clothes.” Came his soft voice from outside. 

“It’s fine! We’ll be out in a minute.” I replied, Scylla now fully awake and looking around confused. 

“Who was that?” She asked, her voice rough from sleep. 

“Uh, I don’t think you’ve met him yet. That’s Adil. He came here to get help for his sister and I healed her. He’s one of the Tarim, his people are kinda being killed left and right for some reason. I guess they have very rare seed sounds.” I explained, untangling myself from her and picking up my clothes from around the room. 

“Kinda being killed?” She questioned an eyebrow raised as she watched me. 

“Okay, not kinda, they are being killed. He and his sister are one of the last few surviving. He’s a good guy, you can trust him.” 

“Do you trust him?” Scylla asked, putting her clothes back on as well. 

“Abigail trusts him, so yes. I do.” I replied, “I’m not sure how he found us though. Come on, let’s go see what he wants.” 

“Before we do that,” Scylla grabbed my hand and pulled me to her, crashing her lips into mine. I kissed her back, smiling and happy to have her in my arms. 

She pulled back and grinned like an idiot in love. 

“What was that for?” I asked, not at all objecting it. 

“I just never want to waste any moment I’m able to kiss you, ever again. Who knows how many I’ll get.” 

I pulled her close once more and kissed her softly, “You’ll have a lifetime worth of moments baby, I’m always gonna be by your side.” 

Scylla smiled and intertwined our hands, pulling me towards the door. “Let's go see what this Adil wants and then I can get what I want...which is you without clothes on.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“There’s a manhunt out for Scylla. General Bellweather issued a dead or alive bounty on her head. As of today, Scylla has been labeled a dangerous fugitive and is technically an enemy of the state. She needs to leave Fort Salem and she needs to leave now.” 

Shit. 

“What the hell are you talking about Adil? How do you know this?” I asked, feeling Scylla's hand tense in mine. 

Adil ran a nervous hand through his hair before answering, “It’s all over the news and has been broadcasted to every district in the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in America knows who she is and what she looks like.” 

I turned to look at Scylla, to see how she was taking this news. Her face was drained of color, but her eyes held a determined look. “Petra doesn’t scare me, I’m not going to run just because she wants me dead or alive.” 

Adil shook his head, “You don’t understand, she’s put out an award. Any civilian who brings you in gets $100,000. It won’t just be military personnel out for you, it will be everybody. Raelle is technically committing a war crime by not bringing you in right now.” He explained in a grim voice. 

Now Scylla's eyes held a terrified look. She had no problem going down fighting, but if she brought me down with her, well that’s a different story. 

She put on a brave face and asked Adil, “Who all knows we are here? Also, side question, how did you even find us?” 

“Anacostia told me you were in the old Necro building and gave me instructions on how to find you. As for the people who know, just myself and Anacostia at the moment. But the sooner we get you out of here the better.” Adil answered, nervously looking around as if someone was watching us. 

Scylla turned to me, I could see in her eyes the question she wanted to ask and knew she feared my answer. 

Turning to Adil I asked, “Where would she go? You said the whole country is going to be looking for her, how can she just leave and be okay?” 

He pulled out a very worn map and handed it to me. I unfolded it and saw a blur of lines and landmarks. “What is this?” I asked, trying to figure out what the hell I was looking at. 

“It’s an old Tarim map that shows all our safe houses and where our groups are posted. I and Khalida will take Scylla with us when we leave. We are going to try and find the rest of the Tarim and help them defend against the genocide that seems to be happening. We could always use a necro so they won’t object to her joining, I’m sure they would also love having a healer. As for how she is going to be safe to travel, well I would assume she just adorned a new face and identity.” He said, jerking his head at Scylla. 

I saw Scylla's jaw clench when Adil mentioned her just putting on a new face, but my first concern was her safety. Based on what Adil said, the sooner she stops being Scylla Ramshorn, the safer she will be. 

“Alright, go back to base and tell Petra that you are leaving. If she objects, state that you are not a prisoner there and have the right to leave whenever you want.” I explained and then put my hand on his shoulder, “I know your goodbye won’t be easy for some people, good luck.” I sent him off then and turned to look at Scylla. 

“So quick to get rid of me huh?” She said, looking at the ground. 

I closed the distance between us and took her hand, pressing a kiss on the top of it. “You know that’s not true. There’s no place I’d rather be than with you.” 

“Then come with me.” Her blue eyes burned into mine. 

“Scylla I-” 

“What? You can’t? Why! You hate the military and now that you know how corrupt it was why would you possibly want to stay!” She yelled, jerking her hand away. 

I knew she was mad, but not at me. She was mad at all the shit we both have gone through just to end up where we were now. 

“Scyl,” I said, pulling her to me and holding her tight. “I would leave with you in a heartbeat but,” 

“But you have an obligation to your unit? To Abigail and Tally, yeah I know.” She finished, looking away from me. 

Cupping her chin, I pulled her face to look at me, “It’s not just the unit Scylla. I-I want to change the system, make sure nothing like what happened with Alder can happen again. Only people with high positions can do that, and deserters usually don’t get high positions. My mom-” I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued, “She was worked to her limit and that’s what got her killed, but I bet you she was not the first to die like that. I...I owe it to her to try and fix the problems and make sure that nobody else has to die because they have nothing left in them but still are forced to fight.” I explained in a desperate voice. 

Scylla said nothing for a while and just let me hold her. I felt her teardrops on my shirt and couldn’t stop the ones that flowed down my cheeks. 

“You always wanted to do good, no matter what situation you were in. It’s one of the many things I love about you ya know? Even if it’s a reason why I have to leave without you.” She pulled away to look at me, wiping my tears away with a sad smile. 

“You made me want to make a change. I was happy dying and getting my service over with but you, you made my life worth living. You believed in me when no one else did, you saw what I could become and helped me get there.” 

She let out a short laugh that held sadness underneath it, “Why do I have to be so damn inspirational!” 

Leaning forward, I kissed her softly, tasting the salt of tears. She gripped the hair at the base of my neck as she held me close, not wanting to end the kiss. I would have gladly died from lack of oxygen if only I could stay like that forever. 

Scylla pulled back and took my hand, leading me back into the building and I closed the door behind us, following her to the bed. 

I didn’t think of it as the last time, even though it very well could have been. Instead, I savored every kiss, every touch, everything. I burned into my mind the image of Scylla, everything about her from the deep, blue of her eyes to the collection of moles that dotted her arms and back. 

We held each afterward, not speaking as we didn’t need words. Both of us knew how the other felt and everything else didn’t matter. Only when dusk fell did we leave each other's embrace, getting ready for Scylla's departure. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tucked some stray hair behind Scylla's ear and smiled sadly at her. I didn’t want to think this was it...but it sure felt like that. 

“I love you. Now and forever.”

She shook her head, “You’ll love me even when I have a different face? Even when I’m hundreds of miles away, not sure when or if I’ll be coming back.” 

“I will not stop fighting until your name is cleared and you can be you again, but even then, I will love you. It doesn’t matter if I see you every day or if I never lay my eyes upon you again, I will hold you in my heart and love everything about you until the day I die because only then will my promise be complete. I was made to love you, never shall I not do what I was made to.” 

Scylla pulled me to her and hugged me tight, I prayed to all the gods and spirits and anything else that was out there that this was not a goodbye hug, but rather a ‘See you later’ hug. 

I held her face and kissed her fiercely, hoping that Adil never came so I could kiss her forever but nothing goes the way you want it in life. A throat cleared behind us and I pulled away from Scylla's lips to see Adil and Khalida. 

Adil didn’t have to say anything, we both knew what was to happen. 

“Keep her safe. She seems to always find trouble.” I said, letting out a short laugh as Scylla rolled her eyes and hit me lightly. 

“It’s a good thing I’m drawn to trouble or else I would have never met you.” She replied, holding my hand tightly, both of us waiting until the very last moment to let go. 

Adil smiled at us and nodded, “I will do my very best to keep her safe, in the meantime, you stay out of trouble.” 

I agreed and let Scylla's hand go, turning back to her. “Whatever you do, don’t come and try to find me. I’ll come to you when it’s safe for you to show your face again and I’ll fight anyone I’ll have to to get that to happen.” I said a determined look on my face. 

Scylla clenched her jaw and nodded, she didn’t like being told that to do, but she also knew I only had her safety in mind. 

I leaned in and gave her one last kiss, trying to push every single emotion I had, love, sadness, anger, fear, everything, into that kiss. Pulling back, I wiped a tear from her face and stepped back. Her gaze bore into me as she held a lighter to her face and I watched as flames washed away the face of the girl I will always love and now the face of a stranger gazed back at me. I thought it would be easier this way, seeing some random person leave but even though this face looked nothing like Scylla, I still somehow could see her in this new person's eyes. 

Adil gave me a short hug and Khalida just turned and gave me a curt nod before heading deeper into the woods, followed by Adil and the ghost of Scylla. 

And then I was alone, in the dark, dead woods.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I entered my room and both Tally and Abigail sprang to their feet. Abigail had puffy eyes from crying, she had to let someone go as well, but she still came over and embraced me. Tally joined and we stayed in our little unit group hug for some time before I pulled away. 

“Raelle, I knew nothing about the order on Scylla's head. I’m Sor-” Abigail started before I cut her off. 

“I don’t blame you for the actions of your mother. Just know that I will stop at nothing to get her to revoke that order.” 

Abigail nodded and stomped her foot, holding her head up high, “And I will help you in whatever way I can. Scylla may have been Spree but in the end, she chose you and that counts for something in my book.” 

Tally put her arms around both of us and smiled wide, “Guys, we are an unstoppable unit. That order will be gone in no time and we will be three very successful officers in the military, I just know it!” 

I and Abigail laughed at Tally's contagious optimism. I hoped what she said was true, there was a hole in my heart left by Scylla and I just wanted her back. 

“Alright guys, as much as I love this unit of energy I’m pretty tired. Is it alright if we go to bed now?” I asked, already about to pass out on my bunk. It’s not like I got a lot of sleep last night. 

Both girls nodded and Abigail shut off the lights, the three of us getting comfortable in our bunks. 

I didn’t fall asleep right away as my mind instantly went to Scylla. When I closed my eyes I saw her face, her smile and I just wanted to reach out and touch her. I opened my eyes, the memory of her becoming almost painful to bear. The full moon glared brightly at me through the window, I looked up at it and somehow knew that wherever Scylla was, she was looking up at the same moon. The thought that no matter how far apart we were, we still were under the same sky and that I could find her among the stars staring back at me, comforted me. I turned away from the sky and was about to go back to sleep when I felt an itch on my hand. 

Bringing my hand up to the moonlight, I saw it.

S 

Wiping a tear away, I pressed a kiss to the mark and closed my eyes. 

Scylla was in the stars.  
Scylla was in my heart.  
Her mark was on my hand.  
And one day, she would be in my arms again.

Until then.


	2. Author Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to ask you guys a question

Hey guys! 

So I was originally going to just make this a one-shot and let y'all and myself drown in the angst, but I low key have an idea for more chapters so I might make it a multi-chapter story. 

I usually mix up my writing style from first person to third all the time because I usually just write with whatever I'm in the mood for, but I'm writing this story for you guys so, my question is which style do y'all want to read it in? First or third? I have done my past two stories all in first person because I just thought it was easier to write from Raelles point of view. 

If I did third person I would either do it third person omniscient or I would do it kind of like the "Heroes Of Olympus" style where it's still third person but focusing on different peoples perspective which would be alternating between Scylla and Raelle. 

Honestly how I see this question is do you guys want me to use "I" a whole heckin lot, or the characters names. 

Let me know in the comments and hopefully I can get a new chapter out by this weekend at the latest!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raelle is dealing with the fact that Scylla is no longer with her and we see how much has changed in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi...I'm back...Please don't kill me. 
> 
> Good things are worth waiting for right? So sorry for not updating but I wrote this chapter today and have a pretty good idea of where this story is going. As always leave a kudos and tell me what you think? I'm writing this story for y'all and want to improve it any way I can!

Raelle 

A question that almost everyone has heard and thought of before is “Where do you think you will be in five years?” Raelle always thought the question was stupid, mostly because she never thought she would actually have a future, she planned to enlist and then die. She also thought it was a stupid question because how the fuck was she supposed to know where she would be in five years? No one's life plan ever actually plays out the way they want, so why bother planning at all? But if you had asked her that dumb ass question when she was nineteen, a newly-made officer with what people called a “bright future” ahead of her, she never would have even thought of the answer of where she is now. 

5 Years Later

“Is that all you got freakshow?” Realle called out in a mocking tone to the massive mountain of muscle in front of her. 

The big man roared with anger before charging at her, arms swinging wildly. 

“Shit.” Was the only response Raelle had time to give before having to dive out of the way of the beast before her. Dodging most of his swings, she got quick, hard jabs in before springing away. She had been counting her hits and assumed by now, the big man had at least 3 broken ribs and his nose that she had kicked earlier and also hit a few times, was now definitely broken. But if he felt any of that, it didn’t show. 

Raelle was about to say something witty again, you know to annoy the man into losing when a hard left hook snapped her head to the side. She tried shaking it off but another hit to her body left her on the ground gasping for air. Apparently, the big guy was still feeling a little hurt from when she said he had man titties because one final hit, a knee to the face while she was trying to get up, left her sprawled in the ring with a broken nose (again) and the feeling of defeat heavy in her chest. 

The stands were roaring. Randell was a crowd favorite and seeing him knock out the “Witch Bitch”, the oh so clever name they gave her, brought everyone to their feet shouting and cheering. The medics came over to her, Raelle was dimly aware of someone dragging her over to a corner and a cool cloth was brought to her face, wiping off blood. 

“How is she?” A gruff voice said. 

“A couple of broken ribs, broken nose and possibly broken jaw and most definitely a concussion.” The medic said, turning Raelles face to examine it more closely. 

The man just nodded and turned away, heading away from the ring and disappearing into the crowd. 

Raelle woke up in a stiff bed with an almost blinding light hanging above her, flickering now and then. The screams echoed in her head, they always were there when she was sleeping, but when she was awake she could drown them out with the noise of everyday life. But they always came back at night. 

Looking around the room, she groaned. The fucking infirmary again. 

She reached for the water beside her and downed it, desperate to get the taste of blood out of her mouth. No one was in the room and the TV in the corner of the room had a shattered screen, the pieces still around it. Raelle was glad to see they put her back in her old room. She didn’t mean to shatter it, but she just needed to hit something. It was the TV or her coach and since the latter put food on her table, the TV was the victim that day. 

“You know, if you keep letting yourself get knocked out, I’m going to have to drop you.” A voice said from the doorway. 

Berkeley was standing there, looking dark and grim as usual. He was only four years older than Raelle, but by the look of him, you would think he’s at least in his late thirties. Close cropped hair, military style, and a thick, full, black beard made him look like one very angry domesticated Viking or something. He stood at almost six feet, but his strong build and ability to always have a stoic look on his face made him plenty scary and no one messed with him. 

“Aww come on Berky, we both know you would never do that. I’m too much of an absolute gem for you to let go of. Besides, who would make you smile then?” Raelle said, attempting to rise out of the bed.

The man’s face did not change, but he walked over and gently pushed her back down on the bed. Raelle challenged him with a look of her own, but couldn’t fight the pressure and leaned back down. 

“There’s enough time in the world for you to be a dumbass and pick fights you can’t win. For now, rest. Medics said that this was the worst fight yet for you. They fixed up your jaw and nose, but the ribs will take longer to heel.” Berkeley refilled the glass of water and handed it to Raelle. “Also had some kidney damage that would have been fatal if not for Mary knowing that you are not as hard on the inside as you seem on the outside.” 

Raelle scowled into her glass as she downed it once more. It’s not like she was gonna die or anything, if the universe wanted her dead she would be. The damned thing was keeping her alive for some dumb reason. 

“I almost had him, a couple more hits and he would have been the one on the ground, not me.” She argued, knowing it wasn’t true, as did Berkely. 

A small sigh was the only indication of emotion from the bearded man before he sat down in the chair beside her bed. 

“Whatever you say El, all I know is that Randell went out for drinks after the fight and is probably waking up with a companion of some sort, and you are in here,” Berkeley said, and from the tone of his voice, a lecture was coming. 

Raelle sighed, she was annoyed and sick of being treated like a child who has gone off the deep end or something, “I’m not some kid that you have to protect you know? I’m an officer in the military and almost twenty-five.” 

Berkeley raised an eyebrow and scoffed, “Is that so? Then maybe stop acting like a child and making dumb ass decisions and I wouldn’t treat you like one. Also, you were an officer, now you are a runaway living in the gallows.” 

Wow, thank you, Berkely for that nice gentle reminder. 

“You know what? Forget it, I’m done talking about this. Just get me another fight okay? I’ll win, I promise.” Raelle replied. 

Before Berkely could stop her, she slipped off the bed and limped out of the room. Everything hurt but she rather hurt physically than mentally. 

She was still in her bloody sports bra and shorts but didn’t care. There were worse looking people in the Gallows, she would blend right in. Raelle left the infirmary and walked out into the street looking around.  
The gallows was a city holding on to its last breath. Having been through several earthquakes and about ten or so tornados, it was more a graveyard of buildings than a city, but it had been her home for the last three years. She walked down the familiar streets and stopped to get food from a vendor who knew her. 

“El! I would ask how you are doing, but I think from the looks of you the answer is not good, eh?” Hardy, a small man roasting some sort of meat on a stick called out. 

Raelle gave the man a small smile and shrugged, “Eh, you know how it is Hardy. Same soup just reheated.” She gestured to the meat on the stick. “Think you got any of that to spare?” 

Hardy gave her a gentle smile and handed her the stick. “Take it, I’ve got some more coming in an hour or two. That is if the butcher’s boy doesn’t stop by the Rose Garden again.” 

Raelle graciously took the meat and thanked the man. She gave a short laugh to the jap about the butcher's boy and shook her head, “I can’t say I blame the boy Hardy, the women in the Rose Garden could very much make anyone forget their duties for a couple of hours.” She had first-hand experience in the oh so distracting powers that the girls of the Rose Garden held. 

The vendor shook his head disappointed, “And here I was thinking you were one of the good ones, El. Sad to see you have fallen to them as well.” 

“Slow down there, Hardy. I never said I have fallen. Besides, you know me, no one can keep me down.” Raelle shot back. 

She thanked Hardy for the meat and started on her walk again. It was near sundown and while she had earned a bit of a reputation in the Gallows, it still was practically a death wish to be out alone after dark. 

Walking the six flights up to her small apartment, she opened the door and collapsed onto her couch in the small one-bedroom apartment. She didn’t bother doing a full sweep of the place like she usually does. Having 3 different occasions of military soldiers trying to kill you will permanently make you on the edge and paranoid. But, that’s the price of having General Bellwether put a bounty on your head and make you a wanted fugitive throughout the country. 

It was dark in her apartment when she heard the door open. Her body was still sore and stiff from the fight, but she still sat bolt upright on the couch, trying to let her eyes adjust. 

“Berkely, if that’s you I’m going to kick your ass. It’s the middle of the night.” She growled into the dark. 

No response. 

Reaching into the creases of the couch she pulled out a long hunting knife. Not having weapons stashed throughout your house is just a dumb ass move. Slowly getting up she crept towards the back of the couch and crouched down. Whoever was in her apartment was still near the door which meant she had maybe five or seven seconds before they would be in the middle of the room. 

Realle saw the outline of the person, seemingly man by the build, but not Berkeley. Seeing as he’s the only one with a key to her place, whoever was in her apartment was a hostile, who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. 

Realle waited until they walked further into the room and then crept behind them and held the knife to their throat. 

“You get three words before I cut your throat out.” She hissed into their ear. 

“Sylla is alive.” The stranger said, in a voice Raelle recognized from her past. 

“Adil?” 

_____________________________________________________________________________

3 years ago

Raelle had been staring at her palm for an hour and Abigail was starting to get very concerned. 

“Hey, shitbird...you okay over there?” The taller girl asked, trying to get her friend's attention. 

It took a few seconds until Raelles brain seemed to process that she had just been spoken to. “Huh? What? Uh, yes?” 

“Do you even know what I asked?” Abigail responded, slightly annoyed with the blonde. It’s not like she had been talking to her for the past twenty minutes and just now realized Raelle was off in her own world, staring at her damn hand. 

“Uh, yes?” Raelle put her hand in her pocket and slumped over on the table they were sitting at. “It’s been almost three months since I last heard from her or got any sign she was alive. What do you think happened?” 

Abigail sighed. Worrying about Scylla and her lack of communication with Raelle had been the main topic of conversation for these past months. It’s not like Abigail hated talking about it, but there are only so many times she can comfort the blonde without feeling like she's trying to reason with a brick wall. Raelle just wanted to voice her concerns, but would never listen to any of Abigail's possible explanations on why Scylla was not responding. 

“As I said, maybe the enchantment wore off? Or she is out of range for it to work? You don’t even know how she did it, so you don’t know the properties of it. I’m sure it’s one of those.” The team leader said, knowing that the words were going in one ear and out the other with the blonde. 

“Or,” Raelle continued, “She has been caught by the Spree and they are torturing her, or some witch hunters got to her, I heard those still exist, or she could have fallen into a bear trap or one of those holes that have the sharp pointy sticks at the bottom, or she fell into an icy river and couldn’t break through the top, or-” 

“Or she’s perfectly fine and you are worrying about nothing,” Abigail said, rumbling her temples. “I never knew how optimistic you were, until now.” 

“Shut up, when have I ever been optimistic. I’m pessimistic about being pessimistic.” Raelle shot back, nervously rubbing her hand. 

Abigail thought for a second and then shook her head, “I don’t even know if that made sense, but I’m going to the gym to train. Would you care to join me?” 

Realle shook her head, “I’m going to see if I can get a burned message to Adil, maybe he knows where she is.” 

The taller girl's face darkened for a moment, it hurt her to know that Adil had bothered to stay in contact with Raelle but not her. In a second, though, the soldier's face held no sign of jealousy, an officer must never give away the emotions they are feeling, lest they be used against them. 

“Okay, suit yourself. You better not get all flabby on me or I’ll kick your butt up and down the coastline.” Abigail teased before turning and heading towards the tall buildings behind them. 

The new “Fort Salem” which was now called “Fort Bellweather”, Petra apparently had no issues with ego, was right on the west coast and the beach was less than a mile away. It was larger and had more buildings, most of them diplomatic as Petra Bellweather was more focused on getting unity among the other orders of the world. It wasn’t a bad idea, but Raelle didn’t like the idea of one person at the head of essentially the world's military. Too much power changes people, she saw it happen with Alder and now she feared it would happen with Petra. 

Every morning Raelle would walk down to the beach and watch the sunrise, wondering if Scylla was too. Was she still sleeping into the night, or was she watching the sunset? Could she be that far? Halfway across the world? It hurt Raelle to think that, but as long as Syclla was safe, everything would be okay. Until it seemed it wasn’t 

Every day, for the past year and a half, Scylla would trace the S onto Raelles palm and she would know her love was still alive somewhere out there. But a couple of months ago those stopped. Maybe whatever Scylla used to make the trick happen, wore off. Or maybe, thought the darker side of Raelles mind, the hand that is used to trace the S, is no longer alive. Raelle hated when those thoughts would invade her mind, but she was powerless to stop them. 

She just wanted a sign that Syclla was alive, literally anything at this moment would bring her joy. 

“General Bellwether has caught the traitor Scylla Ramshorn!” 

Anything, except that. 

Raelle’s head whipped up at the mention of Scylla and she saw a young girl, a new recruit, run up to her. 

“What the hell did you just say?” Raelle barked, wondering what kind of sick joke this was. Scylla couldn’t have been here, she was safe with Adil...right?

“Petra Bellweather is at the main cathedral, she has the nationwide traitor Scylla on the front steps. She’s holding live judgment court in front of everyone.” The young girl said, trying to get her breath back. 

Raelle didn’t respond, just took off towards the main cathedral and prayed to the goddess she would make it before anything bad happened to Scylla. 

A large crowd was gathered on the steps and Raelle had to push her way through dozens of people before she caught sight of Scylla. Her hair was much longer and her clothes looked ragged from months of travel, but those vibrant blue eyes were Scylla's. There she was, the love of her life, and General Bellweather had a gun to her head. 

“As the court and people demand, you are sentenced to quick and instant execution, Scylla Ramshorn.” Petra Bellweather said in a cold, clear voice. 

Raelle processed the words and surged forward but the sound of a bullet being released from the chamber made her ears ring and her body freeze. At her feet, fell the only person she had ever truly loved. The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, the one that she wanted to grow old with, the one who she didn’t want to live without, now, gone in a blink of an eye. 

Blue eyes met the blue sky, red blood pooled on the white clean marble steps, and tears fell on dark raven hair. 

Raelle forgot how to breathe as she knelt by Scylla's body, it was still warm but growing colder by the second. She wanted to hold her in her arms, bring life back into the body of the woman she loved, but there was no life to bring back. Scylla said once that what is dead, never really died, but the eyes staring at nothing and the blood on her hands told Raelle only one thing, Scylla was truly gone. 

“This is the fate traitors meet in this new order! The weak will fall and only the strong will survive. The Spree can not take over this beautiful country and we will hunt down and put an end to every member, Scylla was only the first!” Petra Bellweather said to the crowd, and a cheer followed. All of it was drowned out to Raelle, who acted before she could even think about her actions or the consequences. 

A sound tore through her like nothing ever heard before, it was guttural and deep, full of pain and sorrow, but also anger and hate. It hit Petra like a force unseen and knocked the General to the ground at least ten feet away from Raelle. The hit seemed to daze her, but before she could get up, another wave hit her, this one higher and more extreme. Petra Bellweather withered on the ground in pain, it felt like her insides were melting and the pain only grew worse. Guards tried to tackle Raelle but the force of her sounds gave her almost a force field. 

Only when Petra Bellweather stopped moving did Raelle collapse and the noise died down. She didn’t know where that came from but when she stopped screaming, the pain came back. It crushed her and she wished it would just take her down and let her die with Scylla. 

“Mom!” A desperate cry tore through the crowd and Abigail was by her mother’s side trying to hold her up. She didn’t want to believe her mother was dead. “Mom, mom, please wake up. Mom! Please don’t leave me, I need you to wake up mom please!” 

Raelle was still frozen, the cries of Abigail seeming distant. That was until a hand grabbed her shoulder and shook her violently. 

“What the fuck did you do! What the hell is wrong with you? Fix her right now! Heal her!” Abigail yelled in her face, tears streaming down her own. 

Raelle said in a hoarse voice, “I’m not a necromancer Abigail, I can’t help her.” 

The sting of the slap hurt a hell of a lot less than the emotional sting of the fact that her best friend was the one to hit her. 

“I will kill you for this,” Abigail said in a deep voice, riddled with anger and sadness. “You are dead to me and you will be dead to the world very soon. Guards!” 

Raelles brain finally snapped into action and she knew what she had to do. 

Run.  
_____________________________________________________________________________

Everyone was still so shocked by the events that had just happened, that Raelle had no trouble pushing through the crowd and disappearing into the dense woods that encircled one whole side of the Fort. Petra had done that so the outside world could not have easy access to the base, but it also served as a very easy escape route. And that began her never-ending journey of being on the run from her once best friend now turned into her greatest enemy, Abigail BellWeather. 

Raelle ended up moving from place to place until she ended up in the Gallows. A dead city, wrecked by tornadoes and earthquakes all caused either by the military or Spree. It was a war zone and when the combatants left, they left a ruined city and not a care in the world for the ruined people who lived there. The hatred towards all things witch related helped Raelle fit right in. She may have been one once, but now, she never wanted to use her voice to hurt or even heal anyone ever again. She wanted to forget who she was, who she lost, and everything else in her past and start new. Raelle was shortened to just El, and her hair was dyed black. A new life, in a ruined, dead-end city, what a beautiful start. 

That is how she came to be where she is now, with a knife to Adil’s throat and three words that brought all the walls she had built up crashing down and all the memories she had forced away, right back to the forefront of her mind. A smile, quick kisses, lingering touches, and a deep deep hole left open in her chest. 

“You have five minutes to explain before I spill your blood on this carpet.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A person from Raelles past comes back.

**Raelle**

Her father was on TV. 

Her father was on TV, kneeling before Abigail Bellweather. 

“Raelle, sweetie, please come home and surrender yourself. You made a mistake honey, but General Bellweather promises that no harm will come to me or you, as long as you surrender yourself. Please Raelle, I want you to come home.” Mr.Collar, choked out, tears streaming down his face. 

Her last living family member, no powers whatsoever, just a simple engineer trying to make a life for his daughter after his wife’s death. Would never lift a finger against anyone, now being forced to grovel for his life on national TV, because of Raelle. 

Guilt built up in her throat and she clenched her jaw, trying to stop herself from crying. No one here knew who she was and if they saw her crying over some random man on the TV, they just might be smart enough to put it all together. 

The camera panned to Abigail, she looked so much older in the official general jacket, medals galore on her chest. “You have twenty-four hours, after that, well Ms.Collar, you won’t like the result.” 

Ms.Collar. 

Not Raelle, not shitbird. Just a cold and curt Ms.Collar. Raelle wasn’t surprised, it’s not like they are a unit anymore. She’s a fugitive and Abigail is the General. 

She turned away from the TV, contemplating what to do when a shot rang out on the TV. 

Her father, the man who gave up so much just to give her a life she could be happy in, the man who would pick her up every time she fell and encourage her to try again, the man who she would put a blanket over when he passed out on their coach after working 18 hours. That man was lying facedown on the pavement, blood slowly pooling around his body. 

The camera panned to General Bellweather who looked shocked for some reason like she didn’t just pull the trigger on Raelle’s father, then the cameras cut out. 

Raelle got up and ran again. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to leave. 

Alone in the middle of dense woods, she screamed. She screamed until her voice died and then she cried. She cried until there were no more tears and then she sat there. All around Raelle, the trees looked like a tornado had gone through them, but she didn’t notice or care. There was nothing for her here anymore, and there was nowhere to go, so what now? 

_You keep chugging along and hope the path brightens up._

Her father’s words rang in her head. He would always say that to her when she got frustrated whether with school, work, or just people in general. And so that’s what she did, she moved on and started over again and again, as many times as it took until she wasn’t held down by the weight of everything she lost. Until she could be someone else and forget the life she had. 

But the screams were always there. They rang around in her head like a constant alarm going off. Abigail's scream, Scylla's screams, her screams, all combined to give her the world’s worst and longest headache. 

But the bang of a gunshot is what awoke her. 

____________________________________________________________

Raelle shot straight up in bed, sweating and breathing heavily. She ran a hand through her hair and tried to get her breathing under control. The shot had been a random one from outside. A place like The Gallows always had the wonderful ambiance of gunshots and distant yelling throughout the night.

The dead father dreams again, always a grand old time. 

Slipping out of her bed, she walked to the kitchen for a glass of water when she saw a lump laying on her couch. 

Adil. 

The conversation with him came rushing back and she winced. It wasn’t all a bad dream then, like she had hoped. 

* * *

_“You have five minutes to explain before I spill your blood on this carpet.”_

_Raelle removed the knife from Adil’s throat and he turned to face her. He had grown from the scared boy seeking help for his sister, to a man who had seen the world and lived through it. His dark hair was grown out to his shoulder and a beard made him look older than his supposed 26 years._

_“What, no how are you? Long time no see?” Adil joked, but the light tone he used did not reach his eyes._

_“I stick true to my word, you have four minutes and forty-five seconds until I decide whether or not I will need to clean my carpet tonight. Talk.”_

_“Long story short, Scylla and I split up about a year after she left with me. We were attacked, by whom I don’t know, but when all was said and done, Scylla wasn’t by my side anymore.” Adil started, running a hand through his long hair before continuing. “I didn’t know where to even start looking for her, and after searching for months, I saw the footage that Petra Bellweather streamed all over the country, of Scylla's death.”_

_So, the shooting was being taped, Raelle didn’t know that. She wondered if the cameras cut before or after she murdered Petra._

_“You better be getting to the alive part, or you won’t be.” She growled out, impatient._

_“A year ago, I was working with some of the Tarim, I and Khalida found them hiding out up north when a group of travelers approached our camp. One of the women came up to me and pulled me aside. She gave me this.” Adil pulled something out of his pocket and Raelle’s breath caught in her throat._

_The empty sockets of the bird’s skull stared blankly at her, but the memories of Scylla and the graveyard and the dance, filled her with warmth._

_Raelle reached for it and gingerly took it from Adil’s hand. She clenched her jaw to stop it from trembling, she wasn’t that person anymore, but the old wound that Scylla left was now fresh and open for everyone to see._

_“Did she-” Raelle started but stopped, afraid of the answer, “Did she...look like...herself?”_

_Adil’s eyes left hers and he looked down, shaking his head. “No, she had a different face on. She didn’t want any trouble for her, fa-uh-friends, in case anyone recognized her. But it was Scylla, I’m positive. Once I knew she was alive, I started looking for you. You are not an easy person to find, by the way.”_

_Yeah, that’s the point, she thought. Raelle caught the hiccup when Adil was talking about why Scylla had a different face on but didn’t question it. She was too busy lost in the past, but one concern was nagging at her. “The girl who was shot then, the one who wore Scylla’s face?”_

_Her old friend shrugged, “I don’t know about that and neither did Scylla. I assume it was the Spree, trying to get Petra off their back, or maybe a ploy by Petra to bring Scylla out of hiding, murder an innocent person and make her angry enough to go after her.”_

_Raelle scoffed, “Yeah, well if that was Petra’s plan, it didn’t work out so much.” The image of Petra Bellweathers lifeless body and Abigail crying over it, forever ingrained in her mind._

_Adil put a hand on her shoulder, but quickly removed it when she glared at him. She didn’t want or deserve comfort, not after everything she’s done._

_“What you did...it wasn’t in cold blood you know that right? Petra murdered that Scylla look-alike without any sort of trial which goes against so many laws. And….Scylla doesn’t hold it against you.”_

_Those words should have meant something to Raelle, but in her mind, she was very much to blame and the fact that anyone could forgive her, well she just couldn’t accept that. “Well she should, I murdered Petra without a trial too, and I did much worse afterwards.”_

_Raelle tucked the knife into her waistband and gestured towards the door. “If that’s all you came to tell me, I suggest you get a move on. The sooner you get out of The Gallows, the better. It’s not a place for someone like you.”_

_Adil looked at her with an expression of bewilderment, “That’s it? I tell you that Scylla is alive and I know where she is, and you just send me on my way? Come with me, be with her again!”_

_Raelle held a cold look towards him, “No. My place is here. I left that life behind and everyone in it. You, Scylla, Tally, Abigail, everyone, you’re all in my past and I learned the only way to survive is to keep_ moving _forward. I’m happy here.” She turned away before he could see the lie on her face. So what if she wasn’t happy, murders don't get to be._

_“You can leave now, or sleep here and head out in the morning. Either way, you better be gone soon, you’re not welcome here anymore.” She said without emotion, before heading to her room and shutting the world out behind her._

* * *

She saw a faint glow outside her window indicating that sunrise was happening. Adil should be gone by now, but the cold bitterness in her heart was gone, instead replaced by the deep sorrow and loneliness that happened when she had too much time to think and remember those long gone. 

A familiar face was nice to see, but it brought too much pain along with it. Not to mention that news that Scylla was alive, left her dazed and confused. What is one supposed to do when the one thing they have wanted for so long, yet convinced themselves is gone forever, is now within arms reach. On one hand, she wanted nothing more than to wake Adil up and demand him to take her to her lost love. But on the other, she wasn’t the same person Scylla had fallen in love with. She had done things, unforgivable things that had changed her. Was Scylla different too? No one stays the same after five years but some people change for the better, and others, like her, are left worse than they started. All the unknown variables were like an anchor, tying her down to the place she was at, unable to move. 

“Raelle? What time is it?” A groggy voice from the couch said. 

Adil’s question brought her out of her suffocating thoughts and back into the real world, “Sunrise. You better get going, I’m sure you have many days of travel ahead.” 

He got off the couch and stretched before coming over to her. “Are you sure you want to stay here? The Tarim are still being hunted and we could use your skills. Both as a warrior and healer.” He pleaded, trying to get her to change her mind. 

Raelle showed no emotion when she said, “No. I wouldn’t be much use anyway. I swore off using my voice to harm or even heal people. I’m not a soldier at Fort Salem anymore. I’m not an officer in the Army. I want to leave every part of that life behind, and my power was one of those parts. I’m just a person trying to live their life, in peace.” She emphasized the peace part, hoping Adil would get the hint and leave her alone. 

His face showed sadness and disappointment, but Raelle was used to disappointing people so it didn’t faze her. “If that’s the way you truly feel, I guess I’ll get going then. It was good to see you.” Adil said, packing up his things before turning to her again. 

“I’m glad you are alive, but if I were you, I wouldn’t come around again. I can’t say if you will meet a friendly face or not next time.” She said softly, opening the door for him. 

One last nod from Adil and he was gone. Hopefully, for good, Raelle thought. She just wanted to get back to the life she had made for herself here, was that too much to ask? 

Flopping down on the couch she cursed out loud. She didn’t know what hurt more, thinking Scylla was dead and gone forever, or knowing she is alive and letting the opportunity to see her again walk right out the door. But that was the choice she made and there's no going back. 

“Fuck this. Fuck everything.” She growled out, getting up off the couch. 

It was time to get back to her life and move forward. 

Just keep chugging along and hope the path brightens up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading and please leave a Kudos if you liked it! Also comment what you liked, what you want to see, and ways I can improve! This is my first actual story so not really sure what I'm doing! 
> 
> The next chapters will be longer, I just wanted to clear some things up and get some background before the story really got going.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abigail deals with the new responsibilities that come with being the General and Tally get's some news about her future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter! A little change of POV for ya! Don't worry, we will be getting to our friendly neighborhood Nero soon enough.

**Abigail**

You know that moment when you are about to clean your room or do the dishes out of your own free will, but then your mom comes along and tells you to do it, and now you don’t want to do it anymore because someone told you to do it? That’s how Abigail was feeling. She wanted to be a leader in the military for so long, and now that she had practically inherited the role...well, she would rather still be an officer and have her mom, than be where she was at that moment. 

She was currently in a meeting with the rest of the world's military leaders and one thing she realized was that behind all the fancy uniforms and medals, every single one of the leaders gathered around her was just a bratty child trying to get their way. 

“I am doing something about the Spree! How about you worry about your own country and leave mine alone!” The general from the Russian military shot back after the Chinese said he was letting innocent people die at the hands of the Spree. 

“How can I leave yours alone when the inaction of your military is-” 

“Enough!” Abigail finally burst out. Goddess, her head was hurting. 

Every face turned to look at her and she realized that she couldn’t just shout to get them to shut up, she had to continue speaking or else they would get offended, or worse, start talking again. 

“General Sho, I assure you that we are all relentlessly fighting the Spree and their numbers are getting less day by day. If General Petrov’s military tactics affect your people, maybe try to work together and find a solution?” She suggested, hoping that would end the debate. 

The two Generals stared warily at each other but exchanged no words of hostility which in Abigail's book, was a win. 

“And what about these new forces? The supposed elementals?” General Alexander spoke out, she was one of the few people Abigail liked on the council. 

“I heard about those!” Petrov exclaimed, “They don’t use seed sounds, but yet the earth and her forces do their bidding!” 

Abigail had heard of the Elementals as well but chalked it all up to rumors. The only way to use mother nature was through the power of the seed sounds, everyone knew that. These rumors were started by people who probably couldn’t hear the attackers' sounds. 

“Until those forces become a bigger issue than the Spree, I propose we leave those rumors in the wind where they belong. Agreed?” She said, trying to stop any new topics from coming up so she could get back home sooner. It’s not like she didn’t like being in meetings with power-hungry Generals who all think their idea is better...it’s just that she hated being in a room with power-hungry Generals who all think their idea is better. This must be what Raelle and Tally thought of her at the beginning of training camp. Just thinking about Raelle filled her with so many mixed emotions and she got so caught up in it all that she didn’t hear what Alexander had said. 

“What was that?” She said, trying to play off her obvious spaced out moment. 

Alexander gave her a concerned look but asked again, “When are your troops going to be deployed? I think if you have some of my soldiers on your side, it might end up with fewer casualties for the both of us.” 

Abigail nodded and said, “I agree. Our women are leaving Fort Bellweather in a month. Some recruits still need to finish up training, but I assure you they will all be fit for whatever the Spree throws at them. With that said, I think it’s safe to say we can adjourn this meeting?” 

The rest of the world's generals nodded and got up to take their leave. Abigail turned her chair and stared out the window of the conference room and down to the courtyard below. 

“I know you like to keep these meetings short, but something tells me your mind had been somewhere else today. Care to share?” Ryan Alexander said, coming up to stand beside her chair. 

She turned and looked up at the general, giving a small smile. “Just thinking about the past, a bad habit but one I have yet to give up. I’m sorry if I was short with you at all, just would like to be anywhere else, but here.” 

Ryan nodded and gestured outside, “Care to take a walk with me then? I know a new coffee place that opened up just a couple of blocks down. They have caramel hot chocolate which I just happen to know is a certain Bellweathers favorite.” The general said, giving Abigail a friendly smirk. 

General Bellweather couldn’t help but smile back, Ryan always seemed to pull smiles out of her. Standing up, she looped her arm through Ryan’s and started towards the door. “I’ll be getting a large with extra whip cream. And possibly a scone.” 

Ryan laughed and shook her head, “You are definitely not the cheapest date Bellweather, what’s next? Almond milk too?” 

“For that comment, I just might.” She shot back, walking through the back exit and out to the courtyard. 

Ryan Alexander was three years older than her, but never talked down to her and always offered to help her when she didn’t know what to do. She had lost her entire family to witch hunters when they burned a group of both witches and normal civilians in a church, Ryan was the only survivor, and only because her three-year-old body was small enough to escape through the vents. Since then, she had lived and breathed military after they took her in, rising to General at 18 years, the youngest in history. 

“Goddess, Francene was talking my ear off during the entire meeting. I know far too much about that woman's dog and its digestive problems.” Ryan said, shaking her head and running a hand through her close-cut hair. 

Abigail gave a short laugh and patted Ryan’s arm, “Thank you for your service of keeping Francene occupied so she wouldn't run the meeting an extra two hours with her petty complaints and concerns. Remember last week when she brought up cutting down the trees in the courtyard because she was worried birds might run into the windows and disrupt the meeting? Who even thinks of those types of things?” She said exasperated, that woman was gonna drive Abigail crazy one of these days. 

Ryan shrugged, “I think she does it to annoy us into kicking her off the council so she doesn’t have to go to those stupid meetings anymore.” 

“Hey! I organize and run those meetings! And they are not stupid!” The young Bellweather shot back offended. 

“My sincerest apologies, General. I meant boring.” 

Abigail gave Ryan a swat on the back of the head that sent her running away and chuckling, “Okay, okay, I surrender! Your meetings are amazing and I couldn’t fall asleep during them if I tried!” Ryan laughed out, hands in the air. 

“Okay, now you’re laying it on a little too thick.” She said with an eye roll. 

Ryan walked back towards her, standing close and smirking down at her, “I just can’t win with you, huh Bellweather?” She asked softly, head cocked in a way that made Abigail want to push her away, yet pull her closer at the same time. 

The young general stared up at Ryan, maintaining eye contact and catching the slight glance Ryan made at her lips. “No, you can not, Alexander. Now, I believe you owe me a hot chocolate and scone?” 

Ryan scoffed and let Abigail loop her arm through hers again, starting the walk to the coffee shop once more. “One of these days, one of these days I’ll get you.” 

“Keep dreaming, Ryan, it’s never gonna happen.” 

“Oh, believe me, I’ve dreamed of it many times.” The older general said with a smirk. 

That comment made Abigail blush and turn away. She could say the same for herself, Ryan had appeared in some of her dreams, in a very unprofessional but not unwanted way. When she woke up, she usually had trouble keeping her thoughts straight for the rest of the day. But she was the General for all of the U.S forces and everything going on with the Spree, it just wasn’t a good time for a relationship. She told herself it was that, and not a certain Tarim that she kept out hope for would return. 

* * *

**Tally**

There was a certain smell to the morning air today, and that smell was puke. 

Tally leaned over the poor raspberry bush that was the victim of her sudden upchuck of the breakfast she ate that morning. 

“You okay Captain Craven? Do you need me to get a medic ma’am?” One of her soldiers asked. 

“No no no Ramirez, I’m okay. Must have just had some bad sausage or something from breakfast. Could you lead the rest of the group back to camp and fall in? I’ll be there in a second to dismiss you.” She replied, trying to keep the second wave of nausea from making her abuse the poor, innocent, bush again.

“Yes, ma’am.” The soldier said, turning and running back to her group and leading them back towards Fort Bellweather. 

What the hell is going on, Tally thought, she hadn’t puked on a run in over 5 years, not since her first hell week training as a recruit. Anacostia had made her carry the trash bag she had puked in around with her for the entire day, it had been humiliating and from that day on, Tally vowed to never puke again. So much for that, but Anacostia wasn’t here to make her carry a trash bag, and she sure wasn’t going to carry this bush around all day. 

Tally shook off the feeling of nausea and started towards the fort, she had to relieve her soldiers of formation and then go and get ready. She was meeting with the General today. 

* * *

“You can head on in.” The secretary outside of General Bellwether's office said, not even bothering to look up from the computer in front of her. 

Tally smiled and thanked her, waiting for a response until there was an awkward silence and deciding to spare herself any more social embarrassment, headed into the office. 

“General Bellweather, Ma’am. You requested to see me?” Tally said, looking straight ahead and standing at attention. 

“Captain Craven, thank you for coming so quickly. At ease.” Abigail said, sitting down in the big leather chair behind the desk. 

Tally relaxed and sat in the chair across from Abigail, looking around the office at all the maps and documents on the wall. 

“Looking for something?” Abigail asked, a slight smirk on her lips as she caught Tally looking around like a child in a museum. 

“Huh? What? Oh, uh, no I’m just...examining my surroundings...Ma’am.” Tally stuttered out. It had been over a year since she last saw Abigail, spending a year overseas setting up alliances as the Camarilla and Spree both amped up their attacks, making them a worldwide issue. Tally was busy during that time, training soldiers and finishing up war college. Everything changed so quickly and she would find herself roaming around Fort Bellweather, thinking of how not so long ago, both Raelle and Abigail would be by her side, arguing about something stupid and Tally would have to interrupt them to say they were both stupid and that she wanted ice cream. That would end the squabble and the three of them would go get ice cream at Tally's request. But those days were long gone. 

Abigail shook her head smiling, “Tally, you’re my best friend. You don’t have to be so nervous around me.” 

“I’m sorry Abig- Ma’am, just trying to respect rank.” 

Abigail waved her hand and stood up, coming over to Tally, “Fuck the rank and give your friend a hug, it’s been too long.” 

Tally gave her signature smile and stood up, quickly embracing her friend in a tight hug. The tension went out of the both of them as they sought comfort within each other. The past three years have not been easy for either of them and being back together finally left them both a little emotional when the hug ended. 

“I’ve missed you, Abigail, it hasn’t been the same around here without you. When I heard you were coming back, I didn’t know what to do. I figured it was not very professional to come tackle hug you when you got off the plane but that was my first plan.” Tally admitted, sheepishly. 

The shorter girl laughed and pulled Tally close again, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before pulling away again, “You are the best person I know, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I missed you. Traveling is not near as much fun when you don’t have a friend by your side. Thank the goddess I finally convinced those thick-headed Generals to come here and set up base. It only makes sense as we are the strongest fast hold and the Spree forces are strongest here.” 

Tally agreed and then asked, “What about the Camarilla? Are they finally wiped out?” She had been on a couple of missions since she was one of the few seerers who wasn’t affected by the sandstorms the Camarilla utilized during attacks. They had managed to capture a few of the members of the murderous cult, and what they said still gave Tally nightmares. A witchless world, a new coming of the Salem witch trials, total annihilation. 

Many thought that after three years of relentlessly hunting them down, they were finally eliminated. But that’s what people thought three hundred years ago and yet here they are again. There haven’t been any rumors of their attacks though for quite a while, so for now there was peace. Well, as much peace as there could be with the Spree still out there. 

“My sources have confirmed that the Camarillas strongholds in all the nations have been discovered and promptly destroyed. For now, that’s good enough for me.” Abigail confidently reported, “But that’s not why I called you for this meeting.” 

Tally nodded, sitting back down again as Abigail walked over to a large, oak cabinet behind her desk. Using a plethora of seed sounds to open it, when the wide doors did finally open, inside was just a single, plain, brown box. Taking it out of the cabinet, the General set it down in front of Tally. 

“Open it.” She said.

Tally reached out tentatively and carefully opened the box, not sure what to expect but honestly planning for an explosion of some sort. She still had trust issues after Abigail had made her an exploding birthday cake and while she could sense this was serious business, ya never know. 

Inside was a small, flat glass rock. The edges were worn smooth and it fit nicely in the palm of her hand. 

“Uh...thanks? I’ve always wanted a...rock.” Tally said, unsure of what her reaction should be. 

Abigail let out a short scoff and shook her head, “Tally, you are adorable, but that is not a rock.” 

“It’s not? It looks like a rock, feels like a rock, and-” 

“Don’t lic-” 

“Tastes like a rock too.” The taller girl said, innocently looking up at Abigail who was pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“It’s a very ancient and powerful seerer stone...and you just licked it.” The older girl said, letting out a sigh. 

Tally’s ears went red as she looked down at the stone embarrassed. “Oh goddess, sorry. I-I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have licked it, I’m sorry. That was such a stupid thing to do and-” 

“Tally, it’s okay. It’s yours now anyway, so I guess you can do whatever you want with it. But I think not licking it is a good idea.” 

“Wait, it’s mine? What? No, I couldn't. This is a powerful artifact and I don’t even know what it does, I don’t know how to use it, I-I can’t.” She stuttered out, shocked by the proposal. 

“Craven, you are the best seerer that has been in the military in the last 100 years. If anyone has a right to this stone, it’s you, end of discussion. As for what it does, think of someone and say, ‘Show me the truth’, and stare into the stone.

Tally gave Abigail a weary look, wondering if the stone would explode in her face. But, in the end, she did as Abigail said. 

Staring into the stone, she thought of who she wanted to see and said, “Show me the truth.” The clear stone started to fog up and when she looked deeper into it, she saw a man with his back turned, doing the dishes and dancing to some music that was playing in the background. 

“What the-” She dropped the stone. 

“Tally! You can’t just drop a 100-year-old artifact, oh my goddess.” The General sighed again, she loved Tally to death but damn was that girl a walking disaster sometimes. 

“I’m sorry! I just didn’t know what to expect and when I saw Gerrit, I didn’t know-” 

“Wait, Gerrit? The guy from our first year?” Abigail asked, suddenly intrigued, “The dude who wanted you to have a threesome?” 

“He didn’t-” Tally started, bending down to pick up the stone, “It wasn’t his idea okay? He just...didn’t share it with me before she came into the picture.” 

“Okay...I guess that’s a little bit different...sorta. Why did you think of him?” 

Tally looked down, she was going to tell Abigail, she was, honestly. But then she sort of...forgot. 

“We are kinda...uh...together...like in a married sense...yeah,” Tally said, staring at the ground before looking up at her friend, scared of her reaction.

Abigail stood there, mouth open for a bit before smiling wide, shaking her head. “Damn Craven, I’m gone for a year and you go and get hitched, okay. I see how it is.” She said, coming over to give her a hug of congratulations. “I’m happy for you. But if he plans another threesome without your consent, he’s going to regret it immediately after I’m through with him.” 

Tally laughed and hugged Abigail back tightly, “Don’t worry, he learned his lesson. I’m really happy with him and it’s been nice having someone to talk to.” 

Abigail pulled away and broke eye contact with Tally. It wasn’t said out loud but Abigail knew she was talking about when Raelle ran away and then when Abigail left for almost two years. The unit split up for good and then her last friend, gone for far too long, leaving Tally truly alone for the first time since joining the military. 

“I didn’t mean to be gone for so long, I just-” 

“I understand. I do, and I’m just glad you are back home where you belong.” Tally said, taking Abigail's hand and squeezing it. 

“I’m glad to be back home too. Now, for why I gave you the Seerer Stone, I’ve got a mission that needs you.” 

Tally raised an eyebrow, “Spree?” 

Abigail nodded, “We think they are planning an attack on the Capitol. If you can use that stone to find out where they are located and what exactly their plan is, we can send forces to stop them. This would be a huge win against the Spree, a turning point in this ongoing battle if you will.” 

Tally swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down at the stone, “And you think I can do it? This is a pretty big step from seeing people in a sandstorm. I don’t even really know how to use this thing? When is the attack planned to happen?” 

“About a week from now is what our sources say, but it could be sooner. I wouldn’t have tasked you with this if I didn’t think you could handle it. You are more powerful than you think Tally, you can do this, I know you can.” 

Tally opened her mouth to respond but a familiar feeling came over her. She pushed past Abigail and made it just in time to her trash can. Whelp, there goes her lunch. 

“Tally! Oh fuck, not the carpet! Here,” Abigail bent over her, holding her hair back and trying to avoid touching any of the vomit. She waited while Tally coughed up all of her stomach's contents before handing her a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. 

“You can keep that,” She said when Tally tried to hand it back, “Are you okay? That came out of nowhere. We should get you to the infirmary.” Abigail said, about to help Tally up when the younger girl grabbed for the trash can again, starting round two of the vomiting. 

* * *

Tally was sipping on some tea while laying on a bed in the infirmary when Abigail walked in. 

“What did the nurse say? Am I dying? Am I going to be okay?!” Tally rapidly asked nervously. 

Abigail shook her head with a small laugh, “No Tally, you are not dying. But.” 

“But?! But what?” Tally said, wide-eyed. 

“But, I think you need to talk with Gerrit.” 

“Why? To set up my funeral? To set up my will?” 

“Tally, I already said you weren't dying! No, you need to talk to Gerrit because, well, Tally he’s going to be a father soon.” 

The seerers face held a confused look for a second, “What?” 

“Tally, You’re pregnant. All that throwing up was morning sickness.” Her General said with a wide smile. 

Tally was frozen in her place, her mind short-circuited. “What?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story and please tell me what you thought in the comments.


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